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The K.C. Sheriff’s Side of the Story

Posted by JOSH FEIT on July 3 at 12:45 PM

I talked to K.C. deputy sheriff Rodney Chinnick. He says the witnesses’s accounts are “not an accurate portrayal” of what happened on Friday. In short, he says, the undercover officers—who were on duty as sheriff’s detectives with the metro transit division (meaning they patrol the bus line routes for things like drugs and prostitution and vandalism)—sounded their horn and siren when Jace Brien stopped them at the intersection. Chinnick stresses that it’s a misdemeanor, “disorderly conduct,” for someone to block an intersection.

Chinnick says that after the detectives sounded their air horn and alarm, Brien defiantly threw down his bike “challenging the officers.” The officers sounded their air horn and alarm again. At that point, according to Chinnick, the officer who was driving got out of the van showed Brien his badge and said: “You’re under arrest.” Brien then reportedly fled about 15 feet. A second officer, on the driver’s side, got out and chased Brien down. Chinnick reports that the crowd was yelling out: “What are the charges?” …which he cites as evidence that at this point the crowd knew these were officers.

Then another biker (this would be Zack Treisman) emerged from the crowd and tried to pry the second officer off of Brien, jumping on the officer from behind and putting a “strangle hold” on him, according to Chinnick. At this point, a third officer emerged from the van. This officer wrestled Treisman off the second officer, shouting: “Stop resisting arrest!” Treisman punched one of the detectives, Chinnick says.

Treisman, 30, was arrested for assaulting an officer. Brien, 18, was arrested for disorderly conduct and minor in possession of alcohol. (The deputies found beer in his back pack.)

Comments

This is an outrage. A priviledged straight white male must be allowed to stand in the middle of an downtown intersection, refuse to move when the police tell him to, and then try to resist arrest. What's more friends of the priviledged straight white male should be allowed to punch the police officer. It's our right! Who's streets? Priviledged straight white male streets!

On a side note can't the police do more about the creepy poor people and drug addicts that clog downtown? My friends and I like friday after work drinks at The Viceroy and street people smell.

I've talked to a number of people who were there and their stories all agree: that the cops didn't announce themselves. No one knew they were cops until the middle of the scuffle. I've talked to a bunch of people independently, and their stories are too similar to believe the Sheriff's story.

It is not okay for police to assault people, regardless of color or social status. I understand and respect your concern for the poor and disenfranchised, and I hope that this effort to call attention to police abuse will benefit them as well.

I can't wait until the pictures and video comes out (shot by other bicyclists). This is another case of law enforcement brutality. If you read the police account, please read what the other side, the "accused" has to say.
And the first comment here, "white male priviledge" is wayyy off base. Do you belive everything your government tells you?

It really is too bad that it was police officers involved in the incident. The crys of "police brutality" cloud the real story - which is that 99% of people think that these CM morons deserve what they get when they don't follow the rules. Everyone that I've talked to wishes that they had been the ones to beat the shit out of these selfish lawbreakers.

For all of their self-righteousness, CM does a HUGE disservice for the thousands of bikers in our city who want to share the road - but understand that sharing means that we're not above the traffic laws observed by everyone else.

While I am not at all affiliated with the Bike group (who seem like kind of a bunch of jerks in their own right), I don't believe a word of this B.S. from the KC Sheriff. I've never been arrested or assaulted by the police, but from my brief (and peaceful) interactions and observations, Cops are just a bunch of ignorant assholes on power trips -- no matter what city or what agency.

While I am not at all affiliated with the Bike group (who seem like kind of a bunch of jerks in their own right), I don't believe a word of this B.S. from the KC Sheriff. I've never been arrested or assaulted by the police, but from my brief (and peaceful) interactions and observations, Cops are just a bunch of ignorant assholes on power trips -- no matter what city or what agency.

While I am not at all affiliated with the Bike group (who seem like kind of a bunch of jerks in their own right), I don't believe a word of this B.S. from the KC Sheriff. I've never been arrested or assaulted by the police, but from my brief (and peaceful) interactions and observations, Cops are just a bunch of ignorant assholes on power trips -- no matter what city or what agency.

"For all of their self-righteousness, CM does a HUGE disservice for the thousands of bikers in our city who want to share the road - but understand that sharing means that we're not above the traffic laws observed by everyone else."

Cascade, by sharing the road do you mean like when you load your bike on the back of your SUV and drive to one of your Cascade sponsored rides?

It's a good thing that the CM bikers were only interested in pissing off rush hour drivers and weren't standing up against the tyranny of the state of Israel. If they had, they'd have been shot on sight, and The Stranger would be gushing about how they were all tied to terrorist organizations and that they all deserved to die.

White Male Priviledge and Street Corker: You "two" guys are a serious iconoclast that will cause a lot of mayhem, I'm sure of it. Your subversive insights are probably gonna also cause some serious downfalls and stuff to occur in a lot of effed up places.

Eli Sanders correctly pointed out the Rachel Corrie was a terrorist and deserved to be bulldozered to death by Israeli police. Critical Mass riders have a right to the road. Zach Treisman being a Jew has nothing to do with Eli demanding justice for Zach and all the Critical Mass riders. Zach Treisman is fighting not just for himself, but for the right of all bike riders. Eli Sanders is demanding justice for Zach Treisman and we must all support Eli for his courage.

How stupid does the Sherrif's office think we are? I guess the dude posting all the redicluous "privelidged white male" stuff in these strings is dumb enough to believe that report, but anyone with a scrap of common sense can see it is total BS. whether you want to beat these kids up or not (Cascade Biker) is not the point. Cops shouldn't be moron thugs like you.

<flame>actually if you really wanted to make comparisons, I'd say CM seems to have more in common with hamas (disengaged from political process and wildly out of touch with reality) than with zionists.

its like "we can't share the road, its OUR road."

I mean seriously, all of the conversation from their end trashes anyone who doesn't praise the martyrs. so stupid.</flame>p.s. (watch, this will be the only comment I've made thus far that will garner ANY response... and its the most meaningless. which is what this all is).

Slog admin - Israel's Gaza invasion is a real international issue of vital importance. Women and children are being killing right now with U.S. weapons.

So it's critical to distract the public with stories about sensational local murders, or evening bike rides through Belltown. Please delete all references to Israel. If we can create a tempest in a teapot about the faux brutality of Seattle Police, no one will ask questions about police in Isreal running over Americans with bulldozers. The Stranger is a pro war and pro Israel news rag funded by cigarette companies, but our readers think we're liberal.

I had a boyfriend once who was a cop and told me about something called "contempt of cop". It basically is when a citizen does not comply with a cop's order even though they are not doing anything wrong. This stinks of contempt of cop. I bet anyone $100 bucks this never gets prosecuted. HEY KING COUNTY!!!!!! FIND SOME REAL CRIME!!! I LIVE IN BELLTOWN, IT'S OUT THERE!!! MAYBE YOU NEED SOME RETRAINING IN WHAT REAL CRIMINALS AND WHAT REAL CRIME LOOKS LIKE!!!!!

I think we need firsthand accounts from outside witnesses to figure out what really happened. Each side's going to tell a one-sided story slanted their way. Someone's lying, and my cynical guess is that it's the fat guys with the badges.

How is it that I was standing right there and didn't see any sirens or hear any horns? How is it that none of the 30+ people I talked to who were there with me heard or saw these men identify themselves as cops? Could it be that they're lying?

Hey, this is a call out to any motorists who were also at the intersection. We want to hear what you saw and heard too.

Slog Admin - Will someone on the slog please block the IP address of the poster who keeps adding noise about white privilaged males and israel. This is my first time reading the slog and I may never come back if I have to wade through 75% fake posts and crap to read the discussion.

Jacqueline's got a point. This is starting to look like a craigslist nightmare, but at the same time I don't want to lose useful contributions by outsiders. The guy spamming the slog with his Israel nonsense is just a troll.

Just a commentary on "do you believe everything your government tells you?" from dan the "man," -- Do you believe everything people say about cops is true? Do you believe everything you read in a half-told article?

I have no problem with any cyclist willing to obey the rules of the road, but when these extremists start coming out of the woodwork on their bikes trying to make a point by breaking the law at nearly every opportunity, I'm not offended when they get called out on it. And from the photos it doesn't really look like a "brutality." The guy's shirt is being lifted. Gee, what are the odds of that when someone resists arrest.

Well I, for one, read with interest that these officers were on-duty for Metro. I am glad to see that the Metro system was so completely clear of any sort of issue that these upstanding officers were able to perform this noble civic duty.

I must say, it's rare that Metro Security is not needed, especially during rush hour on a Friday, but that just goes to show these guys are on the ball.

"If he'd gotten out of the middle of the road, that would've ended it," Chinnick said.

And then what would they have done? Driven through the crowd of bikers that Jace was corking for? Would the KC cops have sounded their siren at this point? Or only as they were driving away with a couple bike frames and bodies in their undercarriage?

"There are supposedly hundreds of pictures in this cam-crazed day. Is it possible that CM thinks some of them might be embarrasing to their POV?"
1.
there are lots of photos and videos, but they are not being released by request of the defense's lawyer.

you will see them at some point, but it would be a stupid move to release the pics/video now. the defendents have the video and the police do not. it may be the deciding piece in clearing the name of the cyclists.

2.
you speak of CM as if it has a leader. it doesn't. its a leaderless group. no one is in charge with an agenda.

I think an anti-critical mass rally is in order. One in which cars cork this group, where cars assert their power. Basically, on the day that critical mass is scheduled, if you are in a car and see a bike obstructing traffic or slowing you down, DO NOT give an inch. If they are blocking an intersection, bowl them over, slowing down traffic, run them off the road.....

HEY KING COUNTY!!!!!! FIND SOME REAL CRIME!!! I LIVE IN BELLTOWN, IT'S OUT THERE!!!

Barking up the wrong tree, there, honey. King County doesn't patrol Belltown. If you have a problem with crime there, why don't you try whining to the Seattle Police Department? The article clearly states that these were King County deputies (contracted to Metro) - not Seattle Police officers.

I'm failing to see how the use of force to restrain someone who is resisting arrest qualifies as a "beat down." If someone resists arrest, they become a danger to the officers. The use of force is necessary for officer safety reasons. Why? Because they never know who they're dealing with. Just because he was on a bike didn't mean that he wasn't one of those guys that was going to attempt to beat down the officer himself and try to pull the gun away (it happens more than you'd like to believe).

It's especially dangerous for the officers where they're in a setting where the mob mentality could very quickly take over. They had to take control of the situation as quickly as possible before something like that could happen. Officer safety.

I support law enforcement officers, but I also know well what being in a position of power can do to the weak-minded. And the deputies' account just doesn't sound right. "Stop resisting arrest"? Who would say that in the middle of a struggle? My intuition says that the deputies created this story after the fact to emphasize the lawlessness of the bikers, in hopes that they would have more credibility than the bikers because of the fact that they are law enforcement officers. It's a course of action that would fit the personality type that would do what the bikers have described. And if the bikers' story was not true, I find it hard to believe that none of the people standing around or in cars would have come forth to discount it. The Critical Mass event needs to be debated, but aside from that, the deputies and bikers are making serious accusations against each other, and the bikers' account of the incident rings truer to me.

Uh, sorry NOINK. But one of the very first things they teach at "The Academy" (doesn't matter which academy) is to very clearly verbalize what you want the suspect to do. "STOP RESISTING!" or "PUT YOUR HANDS UP!"

Plus, if you're physically struggling with some mope, yell what you want, and if he complies, you can ratchet down the force level. Once he's completely compliant, you can switch to voice-only control. It's called the force continuum, and it's a lot more reliable than your supposed intuition.

If I could subdue people with intuition, that'd be awesome! It will be interesting to see what's on that video, once the lawyers give the okay for it to be released. Aside from the seriousness of it, the scenario is sort of classic - most of the commenters seem to be reflexively, solidly taking one side or the other. For now, my bet would be with the bikers, but I don't deny that the deputies could be the ones telling the truth. Maybe it's overblown on both sides, and this will end up not being a big deal. For now, we only have speculation and suspense.

"Just because he was on a bike didn't mean that he wasn't one of those guys that was going to attempt to beat down the officer himself and try to pull the gun away (it happens more than you'd like to believe)."
well, i suppose that makes sense. but Jace is a pretty skinny guy, tall yes, but pretty lanky. those officers had quite the upper hand on him. Nothing jace did justified the use of force... even if the cops side of the story is true, why would they arrest someone for a minor traffic infraction... they said they asked him to move, and once they got out, he moved. so why tackle him?

I don't think you can "resist arrest" when a plain-clothes officer doesn't identify himself or tell the person he is being placed under arrest. If I was walking down the street and some guy tackled me, I'd fight back. If that guy happened to be a cop (maybe I looked like a criminal he wanted to arrest), my fighting back can't logically be considered "resisting arrest" until after he ID's himself.

This is just another arrogant, ignorant cop who got pissy and went too far. SPD knows the best way to handle the CM is to let them do their civil disobedience and leave it at that.

A lot of bullshit has been typed on CMers being extremists and breaking the law, or desiring of doing so. CM is not about arrogance or breaking the law or whatever else. It's about realizing a city without cars being the central focus of city planning where bikers are traffic too. Yes, CM holds up the traffic for a good 3 or 4 minutes while cars have to wait. However, its a drop in the bucket when you consider your 1 hour communte back to Medina on the 520 from downtown. These people involved in the CM incident, or CM in general are not extremists or cop haters. Zach, the one charged with the felony assault of a police officer, is a Math grad student at UW. CM riders are people, not abstract enemies of public order and road users, but rather an element of it, an element that if you lived in many Chinese or East Asian cities, would be very familiar.

Basically, if you don't like CM because of traffic issues, then do something productive and decry single accupancy vehicle riders in Seattle. CM is once a month, but car traffic is every day.

Posted by
anon |
July 6, 2006 1:35 PM

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